Khaleda's nephew Tuhin granted bail in ACC cases filed during caretaker govt
The High Court has granted bail to Shahrin Islam Chowdhury Tuhin, nephew of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, who was convicted in two separate cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in 2007 during the time of the caretaker government.
The High Court bench of Justice Mohammad Ali and Justice Sheikh Tahsin Ali issued the order today (8 May) after accepting a petition against a Dhaka court order that sent him to prison last month.
Lawyer Hasan Rajib Pradhan represented the petition in court while lawyer Omar Farooq represented the ACC.
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Earlier, on 29 April, after he surrendered in the cases, two Dhaka courts rejected his bail appeal and ordered him to be sent to prison.
Speaking to reporters, lawyer Rajib said the High Court granted bail until the appeal is resolved.
According to case documents, the ACC filed two separate cases against Tuhin with the Gulshan Police Station in 2007 on charges of tax evasion and illegal wealth acquisition. In 2008, a court sentenced him to a total of eight years of rigorous imprisonment - three years and five years- in two separate sections in the tax evasion case. However, the court ordered that the sentences run concurrently, meaning he would serve a maximum of five years.
In the graft case, he was sentenced to 13 years of imprisonment—three years under one section and 10 years under another in the same year.
Tuhin had remained a fugitive throughout the trial and was convicted in both cases.
Tuhin had been absconding since the filing of the cases and surrendered 17 years after the verdicts were delivered.
His lawyers sought division facilities in jail and medical treatment saying that Tuhin has heart disease and other health issues.
They also requested that he be sent to jail by ambulance at his own expense.
On 29 April, he appeared before the court of Judge Kabir Uddin Pramanik of Dhaka Special Judge Court-9 and submitted a bail petition through his lawyer Syed Zainul Abedin Mezbah.
Later in the day, he surrendered before Judge Pradip Kumar Roy of Dhaka's Special Judge Court-7 in connection with a case filed over amassing wealth and again sought bail.
Both courts rejected his bail petitions and sent him to jail.
